Systematic-like reviews in Business

2. Plan your literature search

You need to develop a clear review question for systematic-like reviews. A framework can be used to structure your review question to guide your search strategy, and a protocol can be used as a roadmap for the review, to promote transparency, and manage the project.

Develop your review question  

Part of developing your review question, involves an environmental scan to:

• Identify relevant databases (usually at least 2-3 major disciplinary databases, such as Business Source Complete).
• Identify contextual terminology
• Check the viability of the review (is the question worth asking, has it been done before?)
• Match your review type to the purpose of your question

Caution

Ensure your review question hasn't already been answered by other researchers. If you find existing reviews on your topic, evaluate whether you would be adding new knowledge.

---

Use a framework

To help you structure your review question there are many frameworks you can use. 

The most well- known framework is PICO which is used to frame questions around interventions or exposures. These are usually focused questions and answered with Systematic Reviews or Rapid Reviews. For example:

For university staff (population), how does videoconferencing software (intervention/ product) compared with
in person meetings (comparison intervention/ product) affect engagement in meetings (outcomes)? 

PICO may not always suit the question being asked.  There are many other frameworks suited to other types of questions. Below are 3 frameworks that may be helpful for Business, choose the one that is most useful for your review.

You can use the below template/s to structure your review question.
 

Write a protocol

A protocol provides a clear and transparent plan for conducting the review.  This includes the final review question, rationale for the review, inclusion and exclusion criteria, database selection (and other information sources), and a literature search strategy for at least one database as well as approaches to screening, appraisal and synthesis. See the section on Search the literature for more information on developing your searches.

Publishing the protocol in a registry (eg PROSPERO or Open Science Framework) states the review team’s intentions and minimises risk of duplication of reviews by other teams.
 

Refer to the databases and registers below to determine the protocol that will best suit your review question.

• PRISMA for Protocols

  The PRISMA-P checklist is an extension of the original PRISMA statement. It is used to guide the reporting of protocols and contains a checklist of items to include in the protocol.   

  Whilst not all reviews in Business will need a protocol, they are useful to guide the review project and to promote transparency.

• Open Science Framework
  Open Science Framework is a platform for sharing research and registering work, including protocols.  This is useful for registering protocols on any topic.

• PROSPERO

  A database containing protocol details for systematic reviews, rapid reviews, and umbrella reviews that have been registered prior to the commencement of the review. It includes reviews relevant to health and social care, welfare, public health, education, crime, justice, and international development, where there is a health-related outcome.  

  Checking PROSPERO can tell you what reviews have already been started or completed on your topic and will provide useful examples of review protocols.